New Cars
College Costs
Remodels
Weddings
Those are probably most common...once you get through all those it's just water heaters, dryers and roofs...
Sorry but this isn't correct. We can look at actual data from the Society of Actuaries on what big, non-annual expenses retirees actually have to contend with and use
that in our retirement planning.
"About one in five retirees (19%) and one in four (24%) of retired widows experienced four or more [spending] shocks during retirement."
"The two most frequently mentioned financial shock and unexpected expense items are home repairs (28%) and major dental expenses (24%)."
"Long-term care, divorce and long-term help to children were the most troublesome."
Some quotes from real retirees that the Society of Actuaries interviewed:
"Dental . . . I mean, you start to get into thousands of dollars sometimes and no insurance."
"I’ve had—our house upkeep, furnace, driveway. In the last month, I have spent $2,500 on one expense, $3,600 on another expense. That’s in one month."
"My daughter lives alone. . . . She was on her way to a teacher’s meeting, and she crossed the street and was hit by a car. Since then she has MS and they did not pay anything. We got nothing and now she has no job . . . it’s very expensive."
6% of retirees have lost money to fraud/scam/online theft. Cognitive decline is a real problem.